The Brothers Come Again, Bringing Benjamin

43 Now the famine was severe in the land.^{(A) 2} And when they had eaten up the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again; buy us a little more food.” ³ But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’^{(B) 4} If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food, ⁵ but if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’ ” ⁶ Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?” ⁷ They replied, “The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”^{(C) 8} Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and let us be on our way, so that we may live and not die—you and we and also our little ones. ⁹ I myself will be surety for him; you can hold me accountable for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.^{(D) 10} If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”

¹¹ Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry them down as a present to the man: a little balm and a little honey, gum, resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds.^{(E) 12} Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the top of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight.^{(F) 13} Take your brother also, and be on your way again to the man; ¹⁴ may God Almighty^[a] grant you mercy before the man, so that he may send back your other brother and Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”^{(G) 15} So the men took the present, and they took double the money with them, as well as Benjamin. Then they went on their way down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

Directions concerning Marriage

7 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” ² But because of cases of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. ³ The husband should give to his wife what is due her and likewise the wife to her husband.^{(A) 4} For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. ⁵ Do not deprive one another except perhaps by agreement for a set time, to devote yourselves to prayer,^[a] and then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.^{(B) 6} This I say by way of concession, not of command.^{(C) 7} I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has a particular gift from God, one having one kind and another a different kind.^(D)

⁸ To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain unmarried as I am.^{(E) 9} But if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion.^(F)

Jesus Stills a Storm

³⁵ On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” ³⁶ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.^{(A) 37} A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. ³⁸ But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ And waking up, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Be silent! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. ⁴⁰ He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”^{(B) 41} And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”